Illegal Possession of Methamphetamines in California

The Health and Safety Code of California, particularly Sec 11377 defines the criminal act of possession of methamphetamines without a valid prescription. There are many uses for this controlled substance and this is allowed under the control and supervision of a licensed physician.

The crime has four elements and all these facts must be present during the particular incident. These are as follows:

a) The accused was in possession of methamphetamines, either actual or constructive in nature;
b) The accused had full knowledge as to the possession of methamphetamines;
c) The accused had full knowledge that methamphetamines are a controlled substance but does not necessitate knowledge of its chemical composition;
d) There was a sufficient quantity of the drug present during the arrest and not mere residue or traces of the drug;

Sec 11378 of the Health and Safety Code further defines the criminal act of intent to sell and distribute the said controlled substance. The law is violated in this instance when the accused was in possession of crystal methamphetamines, with knowledge of the nature of said drug as a controlled substance, that such drug was in sufficient qualities and there is specific intent to sell and distribute the same.

Sec 11379 of the Health and Safety Code defines the criminal act of transporting or selling methamphetamines. This crime is committed with the aforementioned acts regarding methamphetamines together with the transportation, sale or provision of enough amounts of the controlled substance to be used as an illegal drug.

Each of the abovementioned crimes has their attendant penalties and the gravity of the penalties depend on the aggravating circumstances present in the criminal act. While there are penalties, there are also many options available to the accused regarding lowering or even avoiding penal incarceration should the drug crime be non-violent in nature. This process is called drug diversion, where drug rehabilitation takes the place of incarceration as the mode of penalizing the criminal act.

The crime of illegal possession of methamphetamines is a serious offense in California. Should you be or know anyone undergoing this process, do reach out to the lawyers at the Law Offices of Ramiro J. Lluis for a free consultation today.